How much does the project cost to run?
How is it financed?
Long-term radiotelemetry studies are not cheap. The Baird's Tapir Project has an annual budget of around $15,000. Below is a summary of the major expenses. Since the project is an independent endeavor (we are not affiliated with any university or institution), Charlie is responsible for obtaining all funding. Every year he applies for a dozen or more grants awarded by conservation-oriented institutions such as the Wildlife Conservation Society, Idea Wild, The Houston Zoo and other zoos in the U.S. and Europe. With an ever increasing interest in conservation, the competition for these funds becomes tougher each year. Some years are better than others for fund raising, but Charlie has been working on ways to make the project self-sufficient. He began selling t-shirts a of couple years ago and the proceeds cover almost 1/5 of the expenses. The Adopt-a-Corcovado-Tapir program also generates additional funds.
| Room and Board: Charles spends an average of 300 days in the park per year. He is required to pay the $4/day camping fee and spend about $12/day on food. | Camping- $1,200
Food- $3,600 |
| Assistant: A full time assistant is employed by the project. Room board and salary come to $250.00 per month | Assistant - $ 3000 |
| Research permits must be obtained 4 times a year @ $35 each. | Permits - $ 140 |
| Radiocollars must be replaced every 3 years. On average we replace collars on 5 adult tapirs every year and place a new collar on 1 juvenile. Each collars costs $350. | Radiocollars- $2,100 | | Telemetry receiving equipment: The tropical climate is rough on electronic equipment. We do our best to protect the equipment, but the receiver and antenna system must be replaced every 5 years. The full set-up costs $1,200 (divided by 5 years = $240/year). | Telemetry
equipment- $ 240 |
| Capture drugs / equipment: During each immobilization we spend $170 on drugs, darts, syringes, etc. At least six captures are performed each year. | Captures- $1,020 | | Miscellaneous equipment: Each year we must purchase flashlights, batteries, field notebooks, compasses, and other small items to keep the project running. | Miscellaneous- $ 200 |
The complete budget can be see at the end of the Project Proposal.
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